Why did God set aside the nation of Israel?
God set aside the nation of Israel after seven years of their constant rejection of Peter and the eleven and their appeal to the nation. Because they refused that message, God turned to the Gentiles, bringing them into the picture, as first indicated in Acts through Saul's conversion and commission.
Les explains that after seven years of Israel constantly rejecting Peter and the eleven and their appeal, God gave up on the nation of Israel and set them aside. This is first indicated in Acts when Saul, on his way to Damascus to arrest believing Jews, is saved by grace on Gentile ground and immediately told he will be sent to the Gentiles. Les points out that this was not something new, since the Old Testament said Israel was to be a light to the Gentiles and Israel's Messiah was to be the light, but only through Israel. Because Israel rejected that appeal, God turned to the Gentiles. Soon after, the Roman armies destroyed the temple and Jerusalem, and the Jewish people went into a dispersion that lasted until modern times, with the reestablishment of Israel as a sovereign state in 1948. Les also emphasizes that no prophecy is directed to the church.